Building Engineering Services Association: Labour Market Intelligence

The building services sector could play a major role in addressing the growing problem of unemployment amongst ‘Neets’ (16- to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training), by providing the industry with much needed digital and practical skills, according to the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA).

The Labour Market Intelligence (LMI) study carried out for BESA by Navigator Insight’s legacy agency, Pye Tait Consulting, found that companies expect the total workforce to expand by 11% in the next five years with installation and maintenance roles being the areas of greatest anticipated growth due to technology changes. The rising use of heat pumps, smart building systems, and energy‑efficient retrofit solutions are radically reshaping the building services engineering (BSE) skills landscape, alongside low carbon materials and sustainable design practices. After this, the rise of AI-driven design and increasingly ‘smart’ and energy efficient technologies are expected to further change job roles in the industry.

In general, most employers reported a good level of ‘traditional’ skills but find it hard to recruit people capable of working with emerging disciplines like building controls, energy systems, heat pumps, ductwork and ventilation, all of which are becoming increasingly important. The study also highlighted a lack of ‘digital literacy’ for many building services employers, along with an ageing workforce who struggle to keep up to date.

The LMI study showed that firms are struggling to recruit across most roles but 75% say the biggest issue is recruiting for apprentices and trainee positions. The strongest demand in the next few years is expected to be for labourers (37%), apprentices (33%) and trainees (30%), and many respondents reported problems accessing suitable training courses to help them develop a future workforce.

This situation is further exacerbated by competition from other often more glamorous sectors, and a “lack of awareness” of BSE and the opportunities it presents as reasons for the failure to attract enough candidates for skilled roles. Employers reported that there needs to be greater and more relevant training provisions, and better promotion of the sector by trade bodies is expected to lead these efforts.

BESA’s Labour Market Intelligence report is available for download here, and you can read more about findings by visiting the BESA website here.

Image credit: Etienne Girardet (Unsplash)